1. Rong Guotuan won the men's singles title at the 1959 World Table Tennis Championships in Dortmund, the first world championship winner representing the People's Republic of China.
10 Facts About Rong Guotuan
1. 2.
Rong Guotuan was born in British Hong Kong in 1937, with family roots from Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China.
3.
Rong Guotuan started playing table tennis in his childhood and participated in competitions in Hong Kong as a junior.
4.
Rong Guotuan won national champion in the following year and was later selected as a member of the national team.
5.
Rong Guotuan lost to Zoltan Berczik, the 1958 European champion, in three games.
6.
Rong Guotuan defeated Laszlo Foldy but lost to the 1953 World Championships winner Ferenc Sido at the eighth team match.
7.
In men's singles competition, Rong Guotuan recorded seven straight wins to clinch the men's world championship.
8.
Rong Guotuan became the first world championship winner after the foundation of the People's Republic of China.
9.
At the 1961 World Table Tennis Championships in Beijing, Rong Guotuan helped Chinese men's team win the first team title by defeating Japan and Hungary in the finals.
10.
In 1987, a bronze statue of Rong Guotuan was built in his ancestral home, Zhuhai.